One Piece: I am Imu

"Phew—guess it was my imagination."

When the man turned his gaze away and began walking slowly but steadily toward the spiral staircase, Hizashi finally exhaled in relief—completely unaware that his forehead and back were already drenched in cold sweat.

"Gaku-san let's move. Once we regroup with Captain Minato, we need to get out of here—fast."

Hizashi couldn't shake the eerie feeling in his chest. The image of that man looking at him kept flashing through his mind.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

But he could've sworn the man's gaze first held surprise… and then a trace of mockery. Either way, Hizashi had absolutely no intention of staying here any longer.

They'd already gathered more than enough intel.

Meanwhile—

Chōza and Gozuki, still fighting as they moved, had landed back on the plaza beneath the central tower. Chōza clearly didn't want their battle to spill into the tower and endanger the Rōran civilians inside.

Gozuki hadn't originally planned to get tangled up with Chōza.

But who would've thought this guy was so damn good at pestering and blocking his movements? And with all those jutsu that enlarged his body and created massive bursts of wind pressure, the scale and power of destruction were seriously overwhelming.

That's when Gozuki realized he had underestimated the shinobi of this world.

Chōza surged with pale blue chakra as he leapt into the air. His body first expanded dramatically, then curled up into a massive spinning ball that hurtled toward Gozuki at high speed.

"Again with this move…"

Gozuki immediately dodged to the side as the Human Boulder, surrounded by a howling vortex of air, crashed into the stone tiles below.

But before he could even catch his breath, the giant meatball picked up speed, made a sharp turn, and charged straight at him again with unstoppable momentum.

He'd tried slashing it a few times before.

But this jutsu appeared to be purely a physical spinning attack—its surface protected by a powerful layer of wind pressure and pale blue chakra.

Which meant standard slashes were almost useless.

"This fat pig is seriously pissing me off!"

Gozuki cursed under his breath, his expression growing darker as he relied on Observation Haki and high-speed movement to continuously dodge.

Gozuki had honestly never imagined that someone this overweight could move and attack so damn fast.

What he didn't know was—

Chōza was having a hard time too.

"Tch… it hurts! What the hell is with that sword?! Why won't these wounds heal?! I already used Yang Release chakra to treat them…"

Chōza glared fiercely at Gozuki across from him, all while mentally screaming from the pain of the several gashes on his body.

That blade Gozuki was wielding—now tinted with a faint black sheen—looked absurdly sharp to him.

Sure, his body was still regenerating bit by bit—but far too slowly. Blood kept pouring out of his wounds, leaving him looking battered and soaked in crimson.

Chōza was now certain: without Yang Release chakra, even hemostatic medicine would've been almost useless.

"Minato… you'd better hurry. I don't think I can hold him off much longer."

Chōza cast a heavy glance up at the top floor of the central tower. Then, sweeping his gaze around, he noticed multiple squads of armed soldiers and black-clad figures converging from all directions.

...

A nearby army patrol had arrived.

They quickly spread out in formation and, without hesitation, opened fire on Chōza.

"Get lost!"

Chōza used his partially enlarged right arm to tear a massive stone slab from the ground. Using it as a shield, he blocked the hail of bullets—then hurled the slab back at them with brute force.

The next moment, one of the soldiers in front didn't hesitate for a second. He dropped his heavy automatic rifle and drew a long sword from his back.

In an instant—

Four green, claw-like blades sliced ​​through the air, slicing into the stone slab.

"What the—"

Chōza was stunned.

He looked around at the rest of the city's soldiers.

If all of them had equipment like that—and skills to match—just imagining it made his hair stand on end.

"Hey! I didn't say you could leave!"

Chōza suddenly noticed Gozuki stepping into the air with Moonwalk and preparing to launch upward. He shouted urgently.

At the same time, he activated Partial Expansion Jutsu again—his already huge right hand swelling even larger as he slapped it toward Gozuki in an attempt to stop him.

But this time, Gozuki didn't even glance his way. He continued rising through the air, completely unfazed.

"The army's here now. Why don't you let them keep you company, you overgrown hog?"

As that mocking voice echoed in the air, a sword slash filled with roaring flames approached.

A pillar of fire swept in from the side, intercepting Chōza's massive hand just in time, the intense blaze carried by a violent gust.

[Boom!]

But the flames lacked true power. They only held up for about two seconds before being smacked apart.

"Huh?"

"This fire's an illusion! It has no heat!"

Chōza had no time to follow up. More and more army soldiers were arriving, unleashing a relentless barrage of bullets at him from a distance.

All he could do now was stay on the move, evading the persistent rain of gunfire.

And as he did—

He got a good look at the man who had just intercepted his strike.

"Damn it. I don't care who you are—now I'm pissed!"

"Expansion Jutsu!"

Chōza's face darkened. This time, he didn't bother with partial expansion.

He went all in—enlarging his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, he had become a towering red-haired giant over 30 meters tall.

Even as large-caliber bullets struck his armored body, they flattened and bounced off as if hitting solid steel, clattering harmlessly to the ground.

[Boom!]

In the next moment—

Chōza swung his massive right hand to the side, stirring up a violent gale that sent a cluster of main army soldiers flying through the air.

[Bang!]

Then his gigantic foot came crashing down, pulverizing another section of the battlefield. A powerful shockwave of dust and force rippled outward in all directions.

Another large group of army troops was crushed beneath the impact.

"Stop right now! You're endangering the civilians inside the towers!"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Chōza turned and saw a blazing fire surging up along his leg.

In the blink of an eye, the rising flames took the shape of a fierce, majestic tiger.

"And yet you dare say that," Chōza growled, "when it was you who kidnapped them and occupied their nation? What shamelessness!"

"Get lost!!"

Fury exploded across Chōza's face.

He was usually good-natured, but even he couldn't stomach that level of hypocrisy.

Without hesitation, he drew in a deep breath—and blew forcefully at the incoming Flame Tiger.

[Whoooooooosh—]

The intense high-pressure wind tore through the Flame Tiger, scattering the blaze in an instant. And within it, the figure of Rengoku Kyojuro was finally revealed.

Unable to withstand it any longer, he was blasted into the sky by the gale and vanished beyond the horizon.

"Chōza-san, we're back!"

Just then, Chōza heard Inuzuka Gaku's voice calling from afar.

He glanced over and saw Hyūga Hizashi and Inuzuka Gaku drop their invisibility technique.

The next second—

A desert lizard leapt out from Gaku's jacket pocket. With a burst of white smoke, it transformed into a large, light-yellow dog.

In a flash, the dog first transformed into Inuzuka Gaku's form. Then, both of them began spinning at high speed.

The two gray, cone-shaped spinning tops barreled horizontally through the enemy ranks and CP8 members.

No one could stop their advance.

Meanwhile—

Surrounded by four or five black-clad enemies and another twenty or so main army troops firing at him, Hyūga Hizashi stood firm.

He released a dome-shaped burst of blue energy from his position.

The blast not only deflected all attacks but also blew everyone in the blast radius away with screams of agony.

"Remember this! I am a jōnin of Konoha's noble Hyūga clan!"

Hizashi held his Gentle Fist stance, eyes sharp with resolve and voice steady and forceful.

"Ohhh, so you're from the Hyūga clan. That explains it~"

But a teasing voice drifted into his ear the next second—and Hizashi's expression immediately changed.

"Still, the fun ends here. Especially for you—you're coming with me. Rawawa~~"

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